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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. root — of a plant
  4. cold — not warm
  5. spell — letters
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. file — a document
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. kid — child
  10. file — a tool
  11. last — final
  12. spell — magic
  13. file — a line of people
  14. swing — in golf
  15. last — to go on
  16. root — of a word
  17. swing — music
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. last — finally
  21. swing — to play on
  22. root — the cause
  23. kid — to tease
  24. cold — an illness

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com